Hong-Mei
Going to China |last_appearance=The Great Engine Games, Again |creator(s)=Davey Moore Ian McCue |uk/us_voice_actor= |name=Hong-Mei |gender=Female |country_of_origin= China |basis=China Railways GJ |power_type=Steam |configuration=0-6-0T |wheels=6 |top_speed=40 mph |designer(s)=Dalian Locomotive Works |builder(s)=Chengdu Locomotive Works or Taiyuan Locomotive Works |year_built=1958-1961 }} (Mandarin: 红梅) is a Chinese tank engine Thomas and his friends meet during their visit to China. Biography '' Thomas first met Hong-Mei during his passenger run after saying he was the number 1 engine. However, Hong-Mei pointed out she was China’s number 1 engine, and the two had a race to see who’s the better number 1. Unbeknownst to either engine, Hong-Mei spilled some of her delivery of rocks as she raced. This caused Thomas to derail on a shortcut line through the mountains. Hong-Mei came to Thomas’ rescue, revealing she took the shortcut line as well and made Thomas come off the rails with her carelessness. She pulled Thomas back onto the tracks and the two engines decided that two number 1 engines are just as good as one number 1 engine. Later, in the twenty-third series, it was revealed that Hong-Mei pulls the mail train in China. Thomas saw Hong-Mei when he, , , and journey to China to see '' : "Going to China". '' Like in the television series, Thomas met Hong-Mei during his passenger run after saying he was the number 1 engine. However, Hong-Mei pointed out she was China’s number 1 engine, and the two had a race to see who’s the better number 1. Unbeknownst to either engine, Hong-Mei spilled some of her delivery of rocks as she raced. This caused Thomas to derail on a shortcut line through the mountains. Hong-Mei came to Thomas’ rescue, revealing she took the shortcut line as well and made Thomas come off the rails with her carelessness. She pulled Thomas back onto the tracks and the two engines decided that two number 1 engines are just as good as one number 1 engine : "Thomas and Hong-Mei". Then, Hong-Mei went to the New Year's Festival along with Thomas and Yong Bao '' : "Chinese New Year". Later, Hong-Mei told Thomas the water wheel he was carrying was important and made of bamboo : "Thomas and the Water Wheel". Personality Hong-Mei is a good-natured but cheeky tank engine from China who loves to race. She is also blue like Thomas, and out to prove she’s the No. 1 blue engine. Like Thomas, she can be careless and hasty at times, but always tries to make up for it. Basis Hong-Mei is based on the China Railways GJ 0-6-0T class. 122 members of this class were built and primarily saw industrial usage in places such as steelworks, with some remaining into service well into the 2000s. In addition to service in China, some members of the class worked in North Korea and Vietnam. Five are preserved. File:HongMeibasis.jpg|Hong-Mei's Basis Livery Hong-Mei is painted blue with yellow lining and a red stripe along each of her side tanks. Her handrails, boiler bands and cylinder lining are brass, her wheels are red with light grey rims, and her number is painted on the sides of her tanks in yellow. Trivia * Hong-Mei's name means "red plum" in Mandarin. * Hong-Mei is painted with the number Yī (一号), the Chinese equivalent to the number 1, on both of her water tanks. * Hong-Mei's front end, smoke box and cylinders are modified from Rosie's with additional details. * Despite working on the Chinese Railway, Hong-Mei has been modified from her basis for use on British Railways. She has added buffers, screwlink couplings and a brake pipe on both ends. References Category:Characters Category:Blue Characters Category:Other Railways Category:Steam Engines Category:Tank Engines Category:Standard Gauge Category:0-6-0 Category:China Category:International Characters